


Red Cheeks

by The_Sickfic_Sideblog



Series: Sick Klance [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fever, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 19:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9782060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sickfic_Sideblog/pseuds/The_Sickfic_Sideblog
Summary: A sequel to The Blues. To no one's surprise, Keith catches Lance's space flu. Now Lance gets to play nurse.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This one was written/edited at 1:00am. All mistakes are contributed to my insomnia and my love for Keith with stomach aches.

One thing Keith hadn't considered when Lance curled up next to him was the likelihood that he'd catch the sickness. He cut himself a bit of slack at first - there were other, more important things on his mind. But now that dinner was swirling in front of him, he cursed himself for not being careful enough.

Lance had been giving him subtle looks across the table all throughout dinner. They were usually just a certain eyebrow twitch for a split-second, and Keith picked them up every time. But the expressions changed as dinner went on. Lance’s gaze lingered longer than it used to, and not quite in the way Keith wanted. It was as if he was studying him, seeing all the imperfections on his face. In truth, Lance was watching as Red Paladin’s face grew paler over the course of dinner. Keith stopped returning the looks. He couldn’t have known that Lance was just concerned. Not only was being inspected making him uncomfortable, but he felt his cheeks start to go red every time Lance looked at him. They had  _ a lot _ to talk about later.

But that was, indeed, for later. For now, Keith choked down the rest of dinner and cleared his plate. He wasn’t feeling particularly nauseated, but he feared this would be the last meal he could keep down for a while. He said a quick goodnight to everyone, and headed off to his bedroom.

Lance followed close behind (but not  _ too _ close behind. He waited until another paladin was finished, and followed them). Just as he was hoping, he heard the pattering of water on the tile floors in the bathroom. His heart couldn’t help but pound a bit quicker. Keith’s voice was incredible from the shower, and the bathrooms had oddly good acoustics. He positioned himself correctly (so that if anyone saw him, he’d look as though he were leaving), and waited.

But Keith wasn’t singing. In fact, he wasn’t even showering properly. He was leaning against the shower wall, teeth clenched shut with a hand delicately pressed on his stomach. He had only just rinsed shampoo from his hair when the nausea struck him from behind without warning. Metallic saliva flooded his mouth too quickly. Too nauseated to swallow it down, Keith unclenched his jaw and let it drool down the shower drain. The relaxed jaw was all the permission his stomach needed.

All Lance heard was a few queasy hiccups, and then the awful retching began. He only had a moment to process what was going on before a sickening thud echoed through the bathroom. He threw all social boundaries out the airlock and pounded on the shower door.

“Keith?! Are you alright?”

Lance couldn’t exactly see through the frosted glass of the shower door, but he could see the silhouette of the Red Paladin on his knees, a mop of black hair covering his face, and splashes of half-digested green food goo scattered on the shower floor. With the social boundaries still floating out in space, he opened the shower door and immediately looked away. The thought of Keith being  _ naked _ in the shower somehow didn’t cross his mind.

Cheeks aflame and eyes averted, Lance fumbled to turn off the shower water. His hand eventually landed on the handle and turned, leaving only the sound of Keith gagging to fill the bathroom. With his eyes still glued to the wall, Lance put his hand on the Keith’s back and found it alarmingly warm.

“Jesus Christ, Keith, you’re burning up...”

Keith swallowed hard, “...I just took a-  _ hic-urp _ ...shower...” His voice embodied the glare his face couldn’t manage. His head ducked back down as he brought up another wave of dinner.

Lance was suddenly very very aware of the situation he put himself in. He had just barged in on Keith’s shower while he was throwing up. In Lance’s mind, that was it. He’d blown it. Any chance of reciprocation was lost.

_ At least I almost got to see him naked? _ He thought,  _ No, it wasn’t worth it. It was stupid of me. He’ll never speak to me again. _

Keith finally caught his breath and spit off to the side. Lance braced himself for a full yelling session, complete with all the rage Keith could manage.

Instead, Keith took a few deep breaths, and slumped against Lance’s side. His body trembled from exertion and chills, and despite being completely exposed, he found a certain sense of comfort being against the Blue Paladin.

“...think I caught your bug...” he muttered, “...feel really sick...”

The sheer amount of misery in Keith’s voice was almost enough to make Lance scream. He quickly pulled off his jacket and offered it. “Wear it like an apron or something. I don’t see any towels.”

“Didn’t think of towels...just wanted to feel better...”

Keith unceremoniously tied the jacket around his waist backwards, sufficiently covering himself up. Lance wiggled himself under Keith’s arm and helped him stand up - one hand supporting the arm around his shoulders, the other supporting his hips. It was almost like a dream, being so close and holding the Red Paladin just as he got out of the shower. It just wasn’t the way Lance originally intended.

With Keith’s hair still dripping wet, the boys exited the bathroom. Keith kept his free hand against his stomach, trying to massage the nausea away. As they turned the first corner, they almost bumped into Shiro, who looked absolutely terrified at the image he was looking at.

“What’s going on?!”

Lance looked up to the tall paladin with downturned eyes, “Keith’s sick...”

Keith hiccuped as if agreeing with him. Shiro’s shoulders relaxed, he sighed, and supported Keith’s other side.

“I figured this would happen. I was just on my way to see if Princess needed help on the deck, but this is more important. C’mon.”

* * *

 

104.2 Fahrenheit. Shiro took the thermometer out of Keith’s mouth and narrowed his eyebrows.

“Just like what Lance had. But you’re probably still warm from the shower. We’ll take it again once you’ve cooled down a bit.” Shiro put the thermometer in his pocket to be used later. Lance was leaning against the wall, trying not to bite his fingernails with worry. Guilt had encompassed him the moment he realized he gave Keith his space flu. This wasn’t a good way to start off....whatever they had.

Past all the guilt, some cogs started to move in Lance’s mind. Maybe there was a way he could make it up to Keith for getting him sick.

“I’m gonna go warm up some soup we found at the mall,” Shiro continued, “You don’t have to eat it now, but we definitely need to get some electrolytes in you if you don’t wanna last as long as Lance did. And it’s definitely better than food goo.”

Keith nodded weakly. He was only just barely sitting up on the bed, starting to huddle blankets around himself for warmth. Even though they put him in the warmest pajamas they could find, he still shivered. Shiro stood from the foot of the bed and went to exit the room, and Lance immediately took after him.

“Didn’t you need to go see Allura?”

“The Princess can wait. Keith is more important right now. He’s really sick, I gotta take care of him-”

“I can take care of him.”

The Black Paladin stopped walking and turned around, intrigue plastered all over his face. Lance was a bit too eager to suggest that option. A part of him was curious how far the younger paladin would go. “I’m sure you don’t want to deal with a feverish and grumpy Keith. Thank you for offering, though.”

“No, I can! I can handle it! And I already got sick - I won’t get sick again, but you might! And you shouldn’t keep Allura waiting. Please, I-”

Lance stopped. Maybe the ‘please’ was a little too much. He could almost see the gears working in Shiro’s head and winced as he came to the right conclusion.  Lance felt the blood rush to his entire face, and he directed his eyes down.

Instead of the disapproval he expected, Lance heard Shiro chuckle a bit. He looked up and saw Shiro pulling the thermometer out of his pocket. He pressed it into Lance’s hand.

“If you insist. I’m still going to get the soup, but then I’ll leave you alone. Call me if his fever goes any higher?”

Lance nodded. Vigorously.

“Go get ‘em, Tiger.”

With a new spring in his step, Lance returned to the bedroom. Keith was still sitting on the bed, face still flushed with fever, but his hand was clamped over his mouth and his eyes screwed shut. Lance immediately put the trashcan in Keith’s hands and sat on the bed next to him. His hand ran up and down Keith’s back through the blankets.

“I’m sorry I got you sick...” Lance said quietly. He wasn’t sure what else he could say. His eyes looked up and down the Red Paladin, taking the time to notice the things he normally couldn’t. The way his collarbone stuck out, the way his eyebrows were shaped, the way his hands-

Lance’s heart jumped into his throat. Keith was wearing his jacket. There was just enough of the dark sleeve cuff sticking out of the blankets for him to recognize it. In an attempt to gather as much heat as possible, Keith slipped on the jacket before making a cocoon of blankets.

With his heart fluttering, Lance went back to looking at the vomiting paladin. His dark hair was still sopping wet from the shower, plastered to his forehead and covering his eyes. With great intent, Lance left Keith’s side to rummage through his drawers. He’d seen Keith with his hair up once before, during a particularly vigorous training session. So he had to have hairbands somewhere. With a little luck, there was one in the bottom of his sock drawer.

Lance had never put up hair before. There was also the added challenge of it being wet hair on a person throwing up their insides, but Lance was nothing if not ambitious. With the softest fingers he could manage, he brushed back Keith’s bangs and gathered them into one piece. He did the same with the longer hair in the back and tied them up. It wasn’t the prettiest of ponytails, but it would get the job done, and Lance was satisfied. But with the food goo coming back up Keith’s throat, he assumed he didn’t notice the action.

Keith noticed. He noticed very closely. The gentle touches on is scalp became his focus while his stomach rebelled. He was sure that the last tickle in the bottom of his gut was from butterflies instead of nausea.

After being confident that nothing more would come up, Keith lifted his head from the trashcan. Red splotches covered his face from broken arteries. Everything spun around him and a haziness clouded his thoughts. The same glazed-over sensation came across in his eyes when he looked at Lance, paired with a large helping of misery and a touch of affection.

Lance managed a bit of a nervous smile before fetching a glass of water. Keith lazily swished his mouth out and spit in the can.

“This sucks....” he muttered, voice hoarse from the acid that came up through it. Lance took the trash can and set it in the corner of the room to be dealt with later.

“At least you didn’t start crying your eyes out like I did. Or pass out. You’re handling this much better.”

“...still feel like shit...”

Keith’s entire cocoon trembled when he shivered. He grasped at the blankets as if pulling them closer would generate more heat. His vision was still blurry from fever and tears from throwing up. Lance pulled the thermometer out of his pocket and hovered it close to Keith’s mouth.

“Wanna make sure you didn’t get worse.”

Keith obediently opened his mouth, and Lance put the thermometer under his tongue. As they waited for the temperature to read, Lance managed to get Keith to lay down on the bed and use the blankets properly. As soon as his head hit the pillow, his eyes fluttered closed and his breathing slowed. A small beep sounded from the device in his mouth.

_ 102.5. He’s not getting worse. I can handle this. _ Lance thought and set the thermometer aside. When he turned back, Keith seemed to be entirely asleep - body limp, breathing slow. He wondered what he could do in this time of calm. His eyes continued to study of the Red Paladin’s face, uncontrollably smiling at the way his eyebrows arched and how his cupid’s bow turned. His eyes landed on his forehead and got the inspiration of a cold washcloth.

Small strands of dark hair that Lance missed stuck to Keith’s forehead. He delicately brushed them away and placed the washcloth down. The strands weren’t long enough to fit into the ponytail, so Lance guided them behind Keith’s ear. His fingers lingered at Keith’s jawbone, trying to memorize the shape and feel. Lance found his place kneeling at the edge of the bed, fixing the loose bangs and flyaways.

Pulling the Blue Paladin away from his circle of thoughts, Keith let out a little gasp and pulled his hands towards his middle. It made an unhappy bubbling noise, leaving Keith panting and gritting his teeth.

“No, no, hey...” Lance calmed, hand drifting from Keith’s forehead to his stomach, “Easy...take deep breaths, Keith...” He pushed his hand through all the blankets and Keith’s deadlock arms to find a spot on his belly and started rubbing in slow circles. He remembered Hunk teaching him that trick back at the Garrison - counterclockwise stomach rubs helped soothe cramps and nausea.

Sure enough, after a session of belly rubs, Keith’s panting slowed and his muscles relaxed. With his relief came Lance’s too. “See? It’s alright. I’m here for you.”

_ He can’t hear me, he’s sleeping...  _ Lance scolded himself,  _ Don’t be an idiot. _ But that didn’t stop the words from just flowing from his mouth.

“I’m sorry I got you sick. It’s all my fault. I really appreciate you taking care of me, though. You didn’t have to do that, and....it means a lot to me. More than you probably realize.”

Lance stopped moving his hand around Keith’s middle, but still kept it against his skin, “I never took you for the caring type, you know? But...you did a really good job calming me down. It kind of felt like I was back home.”

He let out a tiny chuckle and looked down at his knees, “I had a lot of weird fever dreams. And you’re probably having one right now. But one of them was about you and your eyes. And I thought it was just the fever dream making them look different, but....they really are gorgeous. I could get lost in them forever...”

Lance look back u, and saw said eyes staring back at him, wide with surprise. Keith’s entire face was red with blush, and he was blinking at him intently. Lance immediately pulled his hand away and scrambled back.

“You scared the shit out of me! I thought you were asleep! Were you awake the whole time I was talking?!”

Keith nodded slightly, face turning an even deeper red.

“Why didn’t you stop me?!”

“It was really nice hearing you....” he rasped.

By this time, Lance was done. He had enough of the confusing signals, enough of the emotions he had tamped down for years. He wanted to spout everything he’d wanted to say for as long as he’d known Keith, but a sinking feeling in the bottom of his gut dragged him down.  _ How could someone like that ever want someone like me? _

“I’ll...I’ll go get Shiro, yeah? He’ll do a better job of caring for you....or....” Lance trailed off. But before he could turn to leave the room, Keith reached out and grabbed his shirt.

“No.”

“What....what should I do, then? I’m not sure of anything, and this has been such a weird few days, and-”

The same hand sloppily put itself over Lance’s mouth to shut him up. It took a lot of effort, but Keith managed to shift and press himself up against the wall, leaving a space on the bed just big enough for another paladin.

Lance prayed he wasn’t reading this gesture wrong. With his last shred of confidence, he laid down on the spot Keith made for him. Keith shifted again, pressing close against Lance’s body and resting his head on his chest.

“This. This is what you should do.”

* * *

 

After a long time of trying to figure out Altean microwaves, Shiro returned to Keith’s bedroom, soup bowl in hand. And for the second time within a week, he found the two curled up in bed, sleeping soundly. A smile grew on his face. He knew Lance could do it.

He set the steaming bowl of soup on the bedside table, flicked off the lights, and let the boys sleep. They deserved it.


End file.
